
Montgomery County is the fifth most-populous county in Alabama, and the Montgomery metropolitan area is the center of the state’s tri-county River Region. The state capital is home to state and regional government and to Maxwell Air Force Base, the educational and technological center of the U.S. Air Force. It’s also a hub for business, culture and recreation.
Montgomery’s role in trade and logistics is set to expand with the introduction of the Montgomery Inland Intermodal Transfer Facility Port in 2025. The project is projected to create 2,618 direct and indirect jobs and generate $340 million in business revenues and more than $14 million in state and local taxes.
That’s the next step in a series of economic wins. The Montgomery Chamber of Commerce concluded its 2023 annual meeting by celebrating a record-breaking four years of growth that included investment of 122 major projects totaling $3.6 billion in capital investment and 4,641 announced new jobs.
Continuing that momentum, in March 2024, the Chamber’s Economic Development Program received dual grants for new industrial site development totaling $2.2 million from the State of Alabama Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy Act (SEEDS) grant program. The site assessment SEEDS grant will support future development plans for Kershaw Investment Properties LLC, a 190-acre site on the east side of Montgomery. The development SEEDS grant will support the Montgomery Water Works & Sanitary Sewer’s 230-acre CSX Select Gold site.
In May, foodservice packaging manufacturer Genpak LLC, which has operated out of Montgomery County since 1982, celebrated the re-opening of its 400,000-square-foot facility after a $22.8 million expansion.
In response to strong market demand, last summer HD Hyundai Power Transformers USA Inc. also announced a $14 million expansion of its manufacturing facility that is expected to bring 50 new jobs and increase productivity by 10%.

Montgomery continues to strategically develop infrastructure and partnerships to attract and support technology-driven companies, including investing in fiber optic infrastructure and smart city technologies to meet the high connectivity needs of businesses. Initiatives like TechMGM support tech startups as well as established firms through key collaborations with Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base and with Alabama universities. And it’s paying off, as demonstrated by Meta’s recent announcement of an $840 million investment in a 715,000-square-foot data center, one of the largest tech investments in the city’s history. The city also hosts tech-focused events like the annual Department of Air Force Information Technology and Cyberpower Conference, which draws industry leaders, military personnel and tech enthusiasts together to share ideas and facilitate growth opportunities.
Montgomery County is one of the top five most-visited counties in the state, and the city of Montgomery is the #1 international tourist destination in Alabama. It was named one of the New York Times’ “52 Places to Go in 2024.”
Also making headlines is Montgomery Whitewater, an outdoor adventure park that opened in 2023 and was named one of Time magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places 2024.” The park features an Olympic-standard recirculating whitewater course and offers a variety of whitewater and other outdoor activities to people of all ages and skill levels. The park recently introduced an aerial ropes course with zip lines and a seasonal ice-skating rink.
The Legacy Museum welcomes an average of 30,000 visitors each month and is the state’s second most-popular paid attraction. The museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, which opened in 2024, are three Legacy Sites operated by the Equal Justice Initiative.
Katherine MacGilvray is a Huntsville-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
Katherine MacGilvray is a Huntsville-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
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This story appears in the January 2025 issue of Business Alabama.